James: Matt Kenseth looks to change luck at Texas, Jimmie Johnson aims to maintain it
If there is such a thing as momentum in racing, then Jimmie Johnson must surely be riding it into the Sprint Cup race on Saturday night at Texas Motor Speedway.
The same could be said for Matt Kenseth.
Not so, each says. That would be bad news for one, better for the other.
Johnson, a six-time series champion, enters second in the Sprint Cup standings, four points behind Kevin Harvick, has won twice in six races, and with crew chief Chad Knaus can set a longer view with a Chase for the Sprint Cup qualification a virtual absolute. Oh, and he’s won three consecutively, four of five and five of seven at the 1.5-mile Texas oval.
Fast forward: Storylines to watch in Texas
Still, he said, no advantage, other than his win at Atlanta Motor Speedway, third-place finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (another 1.5-miler) and win at 2-mile Auto Club Speedway suggest they’re on to something.
“The veterans of this sport, you’re not going to get a psychological advantage on them,” Johnson told USA TODAY Sports. “It’s a new year, a new situation. I don’t think that works. I think it’s if a guy has been really hot on mile-and-a-halfs, wins two previously and comes here, you’re looking in his direction. But what we did in November (at Texas), I don’t think that carries the weight.”
Then there’s Kenseth and another sort of momentum. The tone for Kenseth’s season was set from the start. He led 40 laps in the Daytona 500, including the penultimate trip around the 2.5-mile restrictor plate track. But a failed attempt to block allowed Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin, who claimed he had jumped out of line to block a rush by Harvick, to eventually sweep to the lead and win a duel with Martin Truex Jr. It was Hamlin’s first win in NASCAR’s greatest race.
The oddity continued. Kenseth was penalized at Atlanta when his fueler left a tool on the rear deck lid during a pit stop. He eventually was black-flagged and left unscored because neither he nor crew chief Jason Ratcliff realized the ruling.
At Las Vegas, Kenseth lost control of his No. 20 Toyota in a corner and sparked a multi-car accident.
At Fontana, Calif., he raced inside the top 5 before penalties for speeding on pit road and for an uncontrolled tire.
At Martinsville Speedway last weekend, Kenseth was second on a restart with 12 laps left and was pressuring race-leading teammate Kyle Busch. JGR drivers had agreed before the race that the leader – in this case, Busch – would select the outside line, the second-place driver would then cede the lead back and real racing would ensue. But the deal was understood to be off in the final 10 laps and Busch felt close enough to enact his privilege to start in the faster low lane for the pivotal restart. He won and Kenseth finished 15th, but didn’t begrudge his teammate’s decision.
Top 5 fantasy picks and sleepers for NASCAR's Duck Commander 500
Kenseth therefore enters Saturday 14th in points. He’s been solid at Texas, but hasn’t won here since 2011. And he doesn’t take any solace in that fact.
“It’s really a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately sport,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if we won here four years ago, or whatever it was. You have to be able to perform every week.”
Johnson expects the same.
“This is a new year,” he said. “We’ve done a nice job. So we certainly come in optimistic, but truthfully, it’s the track. It’s the surface. It’s the bumps. This type of track, it just fits us. We do a great job at them. I drive them well. We set up the cars great, so I really think the course, the venue really plays into our strengths.”
